Brother Philip: I’m Brother Philip Velasquez and thank you for joining us on this podcast episode of That’s In The Bible, where your questions are answered straight from the Holy Scriptures.



Our question for today comes from Yolanda in Sacramento, California, and she asks, “If God created us in His image, was He man or spirit?”



What is the image of God?



Thank you for that question, Yolanda. Before we go on to answering that question, let’s first read the actual verse in the Holy Scriptures. Here in Genesis 1:27 this is what we could read:



So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.



[Genesis 1:27 New International Version]



Brother Philip: No wonder why Yolanda asked this question. Since we humans were created in God’s image then others would ask, “Is God human?” Well, dear friends, the answer is no. God is not human but a spirit, as attested to by our Lord Jesus Christ written here in John 4:24:



God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”



[John 4:24 New King James Version]



Brother Philip: Our Lord Jesus Christ described our Almighty God as being a spirit. What did our Lord Jesus Christ mean when He said that God is spirit? Let’s go to Luke 24:39. This is what the Holy Scriptures teaches us, our Lord Jesus Christ himself:



for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”



[Luke 24:39 New King James Version]



Brother Philip: According to our Lord Jesus Christ, a spirit has no flesh and bones just like human beings have. And because God is without flesh and bones, as He is a spirit, what did Apostle Paul say about Him? Let’s go to Apostle Paul’s testimony here in 1 Timothy 1:17:



Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.



[1 Timothy 1:17 New King James Version]



Brother Philip: Apostle Paul explained that God is invisible, meaning He has no physical image. So in Genesis 1:27, the verse we read earlier on, when it says that we were created in God’s image, it wasn’t His physical image being referred to. In what sense then, are we said to have been created in the image of God? In what way did God intend us to be like Him or in His image when we were created? Let’s read 1 Peter 1:15-16:



but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”



[1 Peter 1:15-16 New King James Version]



How did mankind fail to live up to God’s image?



Brother Philip: Apostle Peter quoted a command of the Almighty God to His people or creation. What did God say? “Be holy for I am holy.” So we human beings were created in the image of God, not physically, but in holiness just as God, our Creator, is holy. It is in that sense that man was created in the image of God. But is it the question now? Did we human beings live up to be in God’s image as He intended us to be that we be holy like Him? The answer is no. We all have failed and we can read this in Romans 3:23: